Mr ALISTER HENSKENS ( Ku-ri ng-gai ) ( 16:51 :22 ): The term "car enthusiast" rarely applies to residents of the Upper North Shore, but it is an apt description of historian and artist Brian Caldersmith, whose book, Caldersmith's Irreverent Guide: Classic Cars & Motorsport, was published recently. It is Caldersmith's second book. In 1996 he wrote the popular A-Z of Classic Motorsport. The North Turramurra 75-year-old's interest and involvement in motorsport is not merely as an author. He is also director of the Australian Motor History Foundation, an honorary member of the Australian Racing Drivers' Club and a foundation member of Club Lotus Australia.

Caldersmith gained his first taste of the sport as an underage flag marshal at Parramatta Park and eventually became a member of the Australian Automobile Racing Club. He was also a member of the North Shore Sporting Car Club, a founding member of the Amaroo Country Sporting Car Club and was the Vice-President and Secretary of the Historic Sports and Racing Car Association of NSW. On a particularly wet weekend at Oran Park, Caldersmith danced on the track after skilfully winning all of the races in his Lotus Elite and was dubbed the "rain master", which is an appropriate sobriquet for a resident of one of Sydney's most rain-soaked suburbs. As the title suggests, Caldersmith's latest book is a light-hearted look at motor racing, including commentary, cartoons and illustrations from a man whose lifelong love for the sport has always been accompanied by his sense of fun.